Detailer messed up!

[DominicJE]

Two weeks ago, I paid about 160 dollars to get my car detailed to get everything out and it came out great until about two after, I was going to wash my car and when I sprayed car with water, I noticed tons of micro swirls everywhere on the whole car but didn't see it the day it was done(?). Now I'm going to call the detailer tomorrow since I've been busy and hopefully they will fix this.

Do you think it's fixable? it looks like micro hologram swirls of some sort...anyone else experience this after waxing, polishing and such?

Dominic

 

[waveman]

Black and other dark colors show swirls more than lighter colors. It should be possible for your detailer to remove them, assuming they don't give you a hard time because of the two week delay. If you're firm but polite, I don't think you'll have a problem, though. Good luck.

 

[DominicJE]

Yeah I agree about black showing everything, but none of these were there before. It was actually a lot better before they touched it unfortunately.

 

[TimC]

Yeah I agree about black showing everything, but none of these were there before. It was actually a lot better before they touched it unfortunately.

Do yourself a favor and join up at AutoGeek.net forums.
Kind of like the old "Give a Fish vs Learn to Fish" axiom, if you want it done right, learn to do it yourself.

The people over there will walk you though every step and every detail of detailing for free.
There's also a ton of videos and all kinds of "Hand's-On" honest product reviews.
If you've ever been to a car show and wondered how they make the paint look so perfect and glossy, a guy name Mike Phillips over there will show you how its done.

For the cost of a couple of details, you can get a complete Flex XC 3401 VRG Dual Action Orbital kit with pads and some Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover 3.0.
I know it looks real expensive, but in the long run buying the best tools will save you a lot of money, not to mention the satisfaction you get when your Pearl Black paint is perfect and glows like the paint is dripping wet...
http://www.autogeek.net/wolfgang-flex-polisher-kit.html

As an example of what's possible, read this thread:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/25226-proof-you-can-do-joe-detailer-black-porsche-turned-into-black-pearl.html
-or-
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/26233-1994-porsche-detailed-operation-comfort-modeled-brittany.html


About the only downside is detailing can be highly addictive.
Once you are an addict, you will never look at any painted surface the same way again...

 

[DominicJE]

Thanks for the links, I'll check it out Tim!

I called the detailer today, they said I shouldn't have washed the car so soon and to let the wax dry. Does this sound like a cover up? The car soap I used doesn't strip wax. I live in Florida so I think it would be dried after like 2-3 days with the heat. They are willing to let me bring the car in so they can look at it and apply another coat of wax. Do you think this will fix the issue and hopefully it wouldn't be temporary.

I'm going to start learning and doing it myself as it's a hassle finding reliable people now and days. This isn't the first bad experience I've had with a detailer. The other one left wax haze everywhere on the car and I didn't see it until sun reflected the certain areas but they corrected the issue as well but still.

 

[pilotdane]

Two weeks is too soon to wash your car??? Waiting for wax to dry??? Now, where did I put my big red BS button?

 

[DominicJE]

Yeah I just checked and found out that I washed my car SIX days later. He must think I washed it the next day and stripped all the wax off or just trying to blame those hologram marks on me. I'll be up there tomorrow and will demand to get it fixed.
It looks horrible in the sun when you rock to the left and right all you see is holograms everywhere.

I traveled 1 hour to go to the place thinking they were a good detailer place since the reviews mentioned it.

 

[Ruissimo]

That sounds like a load of bull to me.

Unfortunately, when it comes to car detailing, you can't go for the "best deal". Find a reputable dealer in your area - read all available reviews, or better yet, talk to friends you trust who have had work done somewhere.

I do have to agree with Tim though... nothing beats doing it yourself. I've just had a hard time convincing myself to drop the money on all the tools I need, though the best tool, and cheapest, is elbow grease.

 

[DominicJE]

That sounds like a load of bull to me.

Unfortunately, when it comes to car detailing, you can't go for the "best deal". Find a reputable dealer in your area - read all available reviews, or better yet, talk to friends you trust who have had work done somewhere.

I do have to agree with Tim though... nothing beats doing it yourself. I've just had a hard time convincing myself to drop the money on all the tools I need, though the best tool, and cheapest, is elbow grease.

The money isn't the issue, I'm just worried that I will strip paint or do something serious to the paint that won't be able to come out. Maybe after reading more articles on that website I will feel more confident.

Although I have buff and waxed floors at a nursing home so I'm sure it's not much different on a vehicle!

 

[newman]

The money isn't the issue, I'm just worried that I will strip paint or do something serious to the paint that won't be able to come out. Maybe after reading more articles on that website I will feel more confident.

Hey DominicJE - Very sorry to hear about this. I can imagine how frustrating this is for you. I am fairly certain that the problem with your paint can be fixed. However, I am NOT confident that the people who made it that way are the ones to fix it.

As you mentioned that the money is not the issue I would seriously recommend you NOT let this dealer touch your car again... at all. I encourage you to still go after a refund if you can but don't throw good money after bad. If they won't refund you your money you do have recourse such as blogs like this, comments on public rating web sites, BBB, etc.

To fix the problem I recommend, as TimC and Russimo point out, for you to learn to do the work yourself on an ongoing basis. You may want to consult with a qualified specialist for the actual repair work. If you read websites such as

http://www.detailedimage.com/Auto-Detailing-Guide/

you will both learn the techniques yourself for education of this problem as well as for you to do the work yourself in the future. In addition, you can see the stories of the pro detailers performing amazing paint repair jobs.

My guess is that the proper repair will involve stripping the existing wax off (wash, clay and then multiple polishes with a dual action orbital tool) and then reapplying a good wax and perhaps sealant after the problems are addressed. Merely applying more wax on top of swirls will not remove the swirls.

Again, very sorry to hear about your plight. The silver lining is that this is almost certainly fixable and you may find that you enjoy detailing your car in the future.

Cheers,
Newman

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[bradyb]

Two weeks ago, I paid about 160 dollars to get my car detailed to get everything out and it came out great until about two after, I was going to wash my car and when I sprayed car with water, I noticed tons of micro swirls everywhere on the whole car but didn't see it the day it was done(?). Now I'm going to call the detailer tomorrow since I've been busy and hopefully they will fix this.

Do you think it's fixable? it looks like micro hologram swirls of some sort...anyone else experience this after waxing, polishing and such?

Dominic

sounds like they might have burnt your paint. always polish out of the sun when the surface is cool. do it yourself there is such a feeling of pride when ppl drool over your ride!

 

[TimC]

Thanks for the links, I'll check it out Tim!

I called the detailer today, they said I shouldn't have washed the car so soon and to let the wax dry. Does this sound like a cover up? The car soap I used doesn't strip wax. I live in Florida so I think it would be dried after like 2-3 days with the heat. They are willing to let me bring the car in so they can look at it and apply another coat of wax. Do you think this will fix the issue and hopefully it wouldn't be temporary.

If it is the Clearcoat you are seeing the swirls, another coat of wax is just a Band-Aid.
Actually, they would use a paint sealer/finishing glaze, not a wax, to fill in the swirls and hide them.
Problem is, as soon as you wash it, the sealer is going to thin out and the swirls will re-appear.

The good news is it's highly unlikely that they damaged the paint beyond repair of any decent swirl remover, such as
Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover 3.0 + Wolfgang Finishing Glaze 3.0 (known as the Wolfgang Twins) or
Meguiar's Ultra-Cut Compound M105 + Meguiar's Ultra Finishing Polish M205.
Either one (or many others) would easily repair the issue, once you learn how to use them.

There are less expensive tools you can use than the Flex, such as a Porter Cable 7424XP, that will give you the same results.
It just takes a bit more elbow grease to get the results you want, along with a bit more technique.
The Flex XC 3401 VRG is by far the easiest to learn and has the bonus of being very safe for rookies.
You would have to try (very hard) to burn the paint with one of these units.

Here's a link to a less expensive, but still very good "Do-It-Yourself" kit.
http://www.autogeek.net/wolfgang-porter-cable-swirl-remover.html



P.S.,

Does your car look like this?
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/47904-new-car-swirls.html#post644700

 

[TimC]

The money isn't the issue, I'm just worried that I will strip paint or do something serious to the paint that won't be able to come out. Maybe after reading more articles on that website I will feel more confident.

Although I have buff and waxed floors at a nursing home so I'm sure it's not much different on a vehicle!

Stay away from Rotary Buffers and you will have no problems learning how to do this and achieve near flawless results.
Orbital Buffers, like the Porter Cable are extremely safe to use, you would have to make a very concentrated effort to damage paint with one of these.

Even a Flex XC 3401 VRG (a Forced Rotation Orbital Buffer) is very safe in the hands of a novice.
The advantage it has is it corrects flaws in paint much faster than a standard Orbital (less elbow grease), but it cost more.


Read up on this subject over at AutoGeek.
Ask questions! - You will get clear and helpful (and reassuring) answers.

Here's a thread on learning to use a Orbital Buffer.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/tricks-tips-techniques/20021-definitive-how-article-removing-swirls-scratches-water-spots-using-porter-cable-7424xp-g110v2-griot-s-garage-polisher.html

 

[DominicJE]

Thanks a lot for the advice everyone, I went up there yesterday and so far it looks like they fixed it. I will purchase my own buffer and start doing the work myself. Lesson learned!

- Dominic

 

[Corvo]

Wow, after reading this thread, I just had to sign up and comment on this thread. While everyone is right, wax does not take 6 days to "dry" I would just like to jump in with my professional opinion that it's 100% accurate. I know this is my first post and I have no credibility at this point, but my business partner Adam and I were the ones who detailed Ruissimo's new Genesis when he first got it.

Also, wax should not "hide" imperfections that show right back up after washing your car a few times. It means the people that did detail your car used a "filler" wax that basically filled in the imperfections temporarily rather than getting rid of them before they applied the wax.

To comment on the purchasing of equipment, the Porter Cable is a great machine for professional and personal use. It's what we use here. We will probably be upgrading to the Flex soon enough, but that's only because of the amount of use we put the machines though. The Flex is built for professional use. Kind of like Craftsman Vs. Dewalt. Craftsman is great for the weekend warrior, but Dewalt is built for intense daily use. Same thing with Porter Cable Vs. Flex.

Anyway. That's my take on everything!

 

[DominicJE]

Well it seems like after they "fixed it" - it came back once again. So complaining to them a third time isn't going to do me any justice. It looks like I'll have to fix it myself...I'll take some pictures soon and maybe someone can recommend me the best way to fix it.

 

[Corvo]

Well it seems like after they "fixed it" - it came back once again. So complaining to them a third time isn't going to do me any justice. It looks like I'll have to fix it myself...I'll take some pictures soon and maybe someone can recommend me the best way to fix it.

I am sorry to hear that. Let me know if you have any questions about what to do and I would be happy to help you out. And, if you are willing to charter me or Adam down to Florida, we are OK with that too

 

[DominicJE]

I am sorry to hear that. Let me know if you have any questions about what to do and I would be happy to help you out. And, if you are willing to charter me or Adam down to Florida, we are OK with that too

My family is in New London, CT so maybe next time I come up there I can come visit! I'll get some pictures this week and maybe you could suggest what methods would be best to fix it.

Thanks a lot, I greatly appreciate it!

 

[Ruissimo]

My family is in New London, CT so maybe next time I come up there I can come visit! I'll get some pictures this week and maybe you could suggest what methods would be best to fix it.

Thanks a lot, I greatly appreciate it!

You could take it to Gotham. Kevin will take good care of you.

Tell him I sent you.

 

[Corvo]

You could take it to Gotham. Kevin will take good care of you.

Tell him I sent you.

Thanks Rui!